Career Attitudes, Employability Perceptions, and Industry Expectations among Tourism and Hospitality Undergraduates in South India

The tourism and hospitality sector plays a significant role in generating employment, fostering economic growth, facilitating cultural exchange, and promoting regional development throughout India. However, despite the increasing job opportunities within this industry, graduates in tourism and hospitality often do not exhibit a strong commitment to pursuing long-term careers in the field. Their career choices are shaped by various factors, including perceptions of job availability, salary levels, opportunities for advancement, occupational prestige, work-life balance, working conditions, employability skills, and their expectations of the industry. This research investigates the career attitudes, perceptions of employability, and expectations of the tourism and hospitality undergraduate students in South India. The study employs a descriptive and analytical research design and aims to gather primary data from undergraduate students enrolled in tourism, hospitality, hotel management, travel and tourism, and related programs at selected universities and colleges in South India. A structured questionnaire will be utilized to assess career attitudes, perceived employability, industry expectations, and career intentions. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation, regression, t-tests, and ANOVA will be employed. The research aims to identify the factors that positively and negatively affect students’ willingness to pursue careers in tourism and hospitality. The results are anticipated to aid educational institutions, industry employers, policymakers, and professional organizations in enhancing collaboration between academia and industry, improving curriculum design, developing employability skills, facilitating internships, providing career counseling, and retaining graduates. Additionally, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolving expectations of the emerging workforce in the tourism and hospitality sector in South India.